Historia
by Koucha
Summary: Sakura was a good student, a nice kid and a loyal citizen. But after turning sixteen, thrifting an antique shop and sudden flashback lapses, suddenly, the idea of there being only one Hokage, after a hundred years sounds odd in itself. It doesn't help either when unfamiliar faces continue to reveal themselves to her. "I'm not Haruno. My last name is Natsuno." AUish Saku-Centric
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

There will be some hints later on in the future, I hope you are interested in reading!

_**Chapter 1**: A Past Not Forgotten_

* * *

_There is an old tale from long ago, of how the people of this land under treason were captured. Their bodies were dissected and drained into watery, black liquid, while their flesh was pulled into thin, fine paper. On its own accord, the ink of the dammed flitted to the papers, their soul used as the binding to create the wondrous and amazingly detailed books—of their lives, loves, family, dreams and hopes—stories of the criminals._

_And then, they were burned._

_They say that not all the books were destroyed—even the charred ones—that they are preserved, hidden like treasures over the course of a lifetime._

_That those once human can be revived._

_Though, that's only the myths._

_Would you like to know the truth?_

_._

_._

Down the darkened street lined numerous apartments with few lights flickering in and out as many members of the city slowly shifted to sleep. Street lights came to life. The little orbs dimmed like candles, shifting and dwindling to those who passed underneath them. Beneath the gaze of the makeshift light, was a young girl rushing quickly to one of the houses down the road.

Her jeweled eyes were bright, glossy and shiny like emeralds and her lips were cracked wide as she hurried home. She ran all the way from the library, down in the center of town. The bus would have been too slow for her. Like a rabbit she leapt from spotlight to spotlight, eagerly looking for her apartment with the small reddish roof.

Her hair was wild and mussed, splaying around her like a halo. Pale, dainty hands balled in tight fists as she continued jogging, the moon, as well as the stars, brightly lightened her view to the familiar path as the lamp lights died a few feet away. With each hurried step her mouth gasped out for air until sucking in the sweet taste of the rose bushes that overflowed her neighbor's fence. The girl didn't bother to look back, hearing her own footsteps as her exercise finally slowed to long strides, coming up past the bushel of flowers. Within moments, she stood in front of her door.

"I'm home!" The rise and fall of her escalated breathing was the only sound to greet her ears in the silence.

Before her were three levels of her home. To the right was the kitchen-and she hoped that there would be a smell of food in the air, and was rather dejected to whiff nothing but the old wood of her house. However the sight of the lights remaining on even as she peered in the door made her smile even wider. "Okaa-san! Otou-san!" She beamed, closing the door behind her and kicking off her boots. Quickly her legs moved her to the kitchen, eyes lighting up for a brief moment to see her beloved mother.

However as she looked passed the small overhang of the door, no one was in the small, comfy kitchen, causing her brows to furrow. "Okaa-san?" She looked over down the hall, tilting her head slightly at the stairs proceeding to their bedrooms. "Otou-san?" She mumbled, looking up to the flight of stairs. "Are you guy's even home?" the young woman bitterly looked around the interior.

She searched up the stairs, in their room—which was clearly empty—the restroom, even her own room. Her eyes furrowed as she receded back down, checking the living area that was in the right of the hall, before going back to the corridor that she started at.

Her green eyes then noticed the small red dot blinking eagerly at her.

_Beep_.

"Sakura-chan!" Was the first words of a woman's happy chirp. Static clung to the voice for a moment, before silencing itself throughout the conversation. "Sorry—we're not home yet—we know how much you wanted us to be home today. Something came up—something bad." Sakura, said woman then rolled her eyes, hands curled into fists. "Your father...well...he's sick. We're in Kumo at the moment, you should really see it! Ah…but maybe next time." The mother tuned down her happy conversation a little. The notion of her voice made it seemed as though she was upset that her daughter wasn't with them. Her voice turned from it's petty disappointment, before she spoke much happier.

The news already bogged down her excitement. Her arms crossed over one another the same moment her teeth grinded against each other.

"Get to the point!" Sakura growled down to the contraption, hardened eyes piercing, hoping to break the red flash with her gaze.

As if on cue, the receiver continued. "We left a card for you on the kitchen table before we left. I think it's a good thing we did, you would've probably been hungry…ahaha…" They continued, mumbling over to her father. It was silent for a few moments, Sakura taking that time to look over to the kitchen door to indeed see a blue plastic card.

"Sakura! Sorry we won't be able to make it." A new voice spoke up, the man's voice grainy and winded. Her eyes only softened at the worry for her father's health, turning her attention back to the hall. "Your old man had to go and eat some of the puffer fish here…and they said it was completely…safe…" there was another silence, before the woman stood in front of the receiver again. "We'll be home in a little while. Kumo's locals here are celebrating one of their festivals, we won't be able to head back until it's over."

She wasn't exactly sure if they were upset over that. It sounded fun—besides being stuck in another country—and getting to celebrate a festival. Since when did Konoha ever have one of those?

"We love you, Sakura-chan." They said. Just as Sakura reached for the button to delete the message, her fingers froze above the machine. Her brows furrowed, and teeth dug into her bottom lip.

"Happy Birthday."

.

.

"What dicks! You'd think they'd think more for their daughter and at least attempt to head back home—sickness be damned!" Sakura snarled, looking into the mirror of her bathroom and glaring hard to her reflection. "It's not fair—it's my sixteenth birthday!" she hissed to herself, seeing her face quickly go through numerous emotions.

How frustrating, and she honestly believed them when they said they would only be gone for a few days. They sounded so sincere she completely forgot how well they could be in tardiness. Her parents were supposed to be home today! She gave an indignant huff, storming to the tub, and finally relinquishing her anger as she sunk into the warm water.

Her green irises glared up at the ceiling, sinking her head further into the water. Thoughts slowly drifting to her parents.

It was obvious they didn't really care much for her. She only ever got by with their constant "I love you's" and gifts for forgiveness. They seemed to accept her as a member of the family, but that's it. Conversations were rare. Chores were mundane and mandatory. Business trips were imminent.

She felt like she was living with guests rather than a family. Even though they held a façade before her she could easily distinguish their masks. There was a time when they weren't so faked. What time was that back then?

In no way were they a lost cause, however.

The rose-haired girl planned on changing that.

"Ahhh. One day we'll be a good, true Natsuno family."

She looked down idly to her fingers in a shift of thought, only to come to another. The small, red marks looked to glow daintily underneath her gaze. Sakura couldn't help but begin frowning at the scars across each digit. Curled around her fingers, were the faded marks of something-if only she remembered-that signified pain. They never seemed to go under her notice until just a few years ago. Her right thumb held a small bite mark atop of itself. "I should get to have these surgically removed...so hideous." the woman sighed, tearing her gaze away from her horrible hands and looking back to the ceiling. With a blink, there was once more a groan as she resigned to what she dreaded.

"Guess I'll celebrate my birthday by myself tomorrow."

As the minutes slowly ticked by, Sakura hummed sweetly to herself, now feeling her anger washing away at her parents, and her heart became light again. They'd redeemed themselves sooner or later, she was sure. Despite even her "spitfire" temper as friends referred to it as, she never liked being angry. It muddled her emotions, toiling and digging under her skin painfully and staying there. With the thoughts easing out of her mind, she enjoyed her bath, soaking in the warmth of the water as she closed her eyes. A pale hand rested against her abdomen, circling the other scar near her stomach. Her voice was airy and light as Sakura continued to hum peacefully. Nice and easy, she enjoyed and relaxed in the bathtub for only a little longer, before taking notice of the wrinkles forming on her skin.

Getting up, she reached for her fluffy, pink towel to drape around her, and began preparing for the night. Shuffling into her room, her hands reached for her big gray shirt on top of her covers to toss across her frame. After pulling her long wet locks up into a bun, the girl finally glanced around the room.

The room was small and cluttered, with clothes from the previous day scattered across her floor. A small flatscreen was hooked up across of her bed, a clear view to her drawer underneath it. She had a window beside her desk and a mirror atop of it, with scratches and chipped paint across the furnishings. What irritated her line of sight the most was the multitudes of paper stacked on top of her desk. Being the honor student she was, with high-grade class courses her parents insisted her on taking, she had forgotten all about the work that needed to be done since her parents departed for Kumo.

Mostly because the sight of doing work that was half-done was distressing, and so she deliberately slept in her parent's room when they had left.

And here she was, returning back to her hellish living quarters, papers not only on her table-as she walked slowly past her bed to inspect the work needed to be done-but also on the floor. Numbers and equations flitted through her gaze, and she snarled at the statistics lining each piece of paper. "This is the worst." the woman looked at her desk, close enough to drag her hands across and just toss the pile to the floor, if it weren't for a certain stack of nicely aligned leaf-noted paper. A pink square attached to the top.

_Sakura. Finished the second chapter - please review and see if it would work into the first one, alright? Thank you. -M_

"Oh...shit." When did she overlook this? It could have been when her friend stopped by to drop it off, along with the numerous essays and mathematical quotas that needed to be addressed. If Sakura had known the story had been within those papers she would have been more than happy to fulfill her companion's request.

Sakura lifted up the stack, taking a once over before taking a corner of the signature of papers and flipping through. A whistle dignified its gracious amount of ink on both the front and back. "You really outdid yourself Mikoto-chan." she grinned to herself, emerald eyes lightening up as she looked over to the clock. "And I'll be sure to drop it off later."

She gingerly placed the pile onto her mattress, before disappearing to prepare herself for the night.

.

.

The room was well lit, enough for her to see the pages clearly as she skimmed through them with curiosity in her jaded eyes. The novel her dear friend was making was quite a spectacle, and her perception only widened marginally as she noticed the familiar words scribbled into the lined paper.

_"Sakura's smiles always seemed to warm his heart. Like the cherry blossoms in spring, the feelings of his unrequited love blossomed and scattered around him. Driving him deeper to his ambition of keeping her close to him."_

"Ohhh, Mikoto is good." she snickered, reading along the lines of the name of the boy. "It fits well in the story, I guess...She could even make this part a whole new novel..." Though it would be odd to have her friend write a love story with her as the center interest. Still, to be honored into the text-happy and loved by others-made butterflies flutter in her stomach. The chapter would definitely transition well into the story.

A few minutes well spent, and Sakura tumbled into her bed with a sigh. Now that she had washed up, done fuming and stomping angrily around the house, and finished at least one of her many chores-reading counted, after all those science notes that were crammed before finals-her body was aching for some good nocturnal rest. Especially after literally jogging up from the center of the city straight to her apartment, sleeping quickly was going to hit her like a brick.

Flicking the lights off, and placing the file onto the nightstand the rosette blinked and succumbed into her sheets, letting the warmth subdue her into a good night's sleep.

Or so she thought.

.

.

_ "Do you remember the story?" _

_ "Which?"_

_ "I remember! I always remember."_

_ "Oh, that story..."_

_ "I love that one."_

_"Ah, it'd be nice to indulge in a good tale."_

_ "Please, do tell us once more, Haruno."_

_ Chatter bubbled around her, charming and sweet like honey, as she looked around to her friends in mirth. There were only few who opened their mouths, their voices in one unison tone. Aside from them, bundled like children, were many others. Faces of new identities strewn around and patiently they waited for her call as though she were the Goddess blessing them with her voice._

_ She giggled, looking around to the never-ending encompass of white above them. Despite the blinding light it had given a healthy glow amongst them all. Almost as though halos were surrounding their entire being. "A tale...?" She mused. Her lips parted slowly, and the chatter ceased like a flame snubbed out by fingertips. _

_ "I remember the story." The woman looked around, her hand brushing back stray strawberry locks, before peering into the eyes of every-what looked to be thousands—single person within her line of sight. "I remember very well." She smiled._

_ "Once upon a time, lived many nations blossomed in their youth." Someone's eyes alighted brightly, she noticed, behind a few hundreds of others. She giggled as a pause. "There were scours of young warriors sought to protect what they love. The nation of their ancestors." _

_ Her voice enraptured many of them as she looked on with soft, jade eyes. "They were proud, they were strong and they were the warriors of the nations." And suddenly, the smiles in their faces-her people's faces-diminished to an unhealthy darkness. The whiteness of their realm grew to gray._

_ "And then, there were those with malice." _

_ Almost every eye in her world shifted in union. Slowly the heads of the people turned behind one another, turning and turning, pairs of malicious pupils settling onto a figure-figures-at where she believed the masses had ended. Even though she could faintly make out their forms, multitudes of piercing red, black, even golden eyes, shifted steadily onto her. The grayness of the world grew darker in magnitude, and the base of pitch black merged with those deathly glares._

_ It didn't waver her form. Her heart, however, stuttered a step in its beat, her breath hitched. That moment of faultiness was easily caught by narrowing bloody orbs. Licking her lips, the Goddess of her story parted her mouth once more._

_ "Selfish, arrogant, they wished for what they already have; power. More and more, they wished to become what they would never reach."_

_ There was a tense pause._

_ "An immortal God."_

_ Like children, they gasped. And looking once more to every eye, she flickered back to the strange, black blurs now tainting her precious serenity._

_ Like heathens from hell, their shadowy figures were cloaked in black; demonic eyes seeking her form. She shuddered, an instant of weakness presenting itself. As though the darkness was a second skin, the world was growing far too dark to her liking. _

_ The people continued staring, transfixed onto her like a spell._

_ "And so, the warriors stood forth, hands with weapons in the air, and waged war with those heathens! To dare lay a hand on their precious, proud countries. Their will grew bright like fire!"_

_ "Their Will of Fire." a voice echoed._

_ Her mantra began. "They fought, fought until their very souls were ripped apart from their bodies. Warriors proud even in death, they were given a second chance at life. Reborn! Reborn again!" She crowed on, her voice like a spark and soon there was no longer a grayish haze over them. It was black against white. Unisonous roars of the faces of many agreed, like spirits uplifting her voice. _

_ If only it were better._

_ "And then, like water to a roaring fire, it was put out." her eyes cracked, pink strands blocking her view, head drooping down to her feet. Suddenly, she no longer was with her warmth-her friends and comrades-and instead, the ground beneath her grew black._

_ It became eerily quiet as she continued._

_ "Warriors-those who never gave in, who tried to live and fight on, were captured." Her voice broke like glass, shattering truths of her story into the night-induced realm. "Malicious heathens trapped many warriors, creating a vicious, horrible spell onto them."_

_ She saw those eyes of horror widen, her heart leapt out to the vastness of her people, her friends. "Each was a cruel, unforgiving fate. Their blood was dripped out of them, creating ink. Their skin shredded and pulped, into fine, thin fragments of paper. Their souls-their very souls-caught and torn, forced to rewrite their stories from the moment they could start to breathe, from the beginning. From the beginning." Her arms stretched out, as if wishing to give an embrace of her love to each of her friends, her warriors, her fighters. _

_ Something akin to horror still froze on their faces. _

_ "And pressed together, thinly pressed, became their life-story." _

_ Burning, she realized. Smoke dark as the flames themselves surrounded her. Wisps of pure black licked at her ankles, skimming her calves. _

_ "And all in one, they began to be burned. The pungent smell of flesh vaporizing into the villages, clearly showing its citizens what the final outcome of the war had become."_

_ And the blackness slowly enveloped her._

_ "Even other heathens-those who were deemed too powerful for the makeshift God—received the same fate. Cursed for being an ally, they were torn into their own, pathetic life." She hissed, and then, her gaze lowered to the few surrounding her very feet. It didn't stop her as she looked overhead._

_ "Like relics, treasures to thieves. Those with a desire for money and greed didn't know any better." Her voice caught on to the people like a gust of wind, and once more, shoved the flames and the smoke aside. Hair blowing as though she commanded some sort of nature, her voice roared with anger, her deep eyes piercing into those of red. "They dug into the masses of burning flesh! Their hands grabbed at the books-the lives-and saved them! Treasured them as though they were of the utmost value!" Lips curling up, her voice protruding and breaking down the blackness, the woman took a daring step forward. "Many warriors, to this world, still live! They fight, wishing to break free of their curse-to be reborn from their stories-to seek vengeance of those unforgiving heathens!" _

_ Her friends rose up their fists, roaring in unity with her as though she was like a wave crashing onto rocks. Pulling away whatever she could from the boulders, weakening them slowly over time. _

_ "We'll be saved one day! And when that day comes..." her voice shouted amongst them all. Quietly she wondered when this no longer became a story. Her eyes still stared deeply across from what seemed like endless miles into those bloody orbs. She could see the tomoes spinning lazily into her gaze. His lips parted, and his voice remained hidden under the commotion. Despite this, she knew what he had said._

"When that day comes."

.

.

It was the middle of the night when she woke up, her body suddenly sagging and too heavy for even herself to move. Her mouth felt dry, and opening up to take a huff was a challenge in itself. Her voice was lost as though she had screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her eyes darted up at the ceiling, frantic and rapidly looking around the room.

_It was only a dream_, she cooed to her mind, her heart slowly settling back to its normal tempo. Within minutes Sakura felt her hands gain mobility, hoisting herself up and then over the bed.

Quickly though she teetered over the edge as though her head was ten times heavier than her body, before shooting her gaze up to the wall. "A drink…" She mumbled coarsely, standing up with a wobble, and leaving for the bathroom.

She dipped her hands into the water, taking a sip from the faucet before she finally felt better.

"Ugh, hate those…" dreams like those—where she always seemed to be mistaken—were the worst. She wasn't some Haru—what was it—Haru, something. People even in her dreams seem to think she was someone else. Her gaze was greeted with curious green ones as she tried to think back the best she could.

What was her dream about, again?

.

.

Lying back in bed, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking of nothing but the oddness of how much darker her room had become. Almost black.

The darkness eased her back to rest, lulling her with sleepy eyes as she pulled the sheets back over her, and once more began to sleep peacefully again.

Tomorrow will bring a new day.

.

.

* * *

**Koucha here. **

_Natsuno 夏野 なつの: Summer Fields_

This was originally 16 pages long with a 6,539 word count. I only cut it to 9 pages...chapter two will be a continuation of the first!

This is an old fanfiction that I found in my files (and on a previous FF account, but I'm too embarrassed to share that) that was over five years old. I love it still, and so I want to be able to at least finish this one story before moving on. Pokemon and Soul Eater have seemed to die down a long time ago, but Naruto has always been my favorite since I was a young(er) kid.

Please review, and tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto (but I wish hAHAHA /WEEPS )

_**Chapter 2:** A Title to an Author_

* * *

"Happy Birthday Sakura!" the woman chirped albeit a bit too happily into her mirror, overlooking the papers that were taunting her with their several equations and damn statistics. The girl in her reflection seemed just as forcibly happy as the former. "What should we do today to spend on this wondrous occasion?"

It was stupid, but talking to herself did always make her feel better. Somehow, she felt like she wasn't always by herself in this kind of situation.

Sakura stepped away from the mirror, fingers digging into her locks as she dredged them against the tangles. On the occasion, she was glad it was a Sunday. People have lazy days on Sunday. She was one of them. Instead of just lying around like a normal teenager would, Sakura was hoping that she'd get herself a good birthday-inducing treat.

Like maybe a spa-day, with her and Rin, and maybe some new clothes. Hell, even Chiyo can come, it'll be a treat that they can thank her parents for. With that in mind, her hands fiddled around her nightstand drawer, pulling out a green cell phone and dialing one of the two numbers.

.

.

"Sakura, are you sure this is alright? I mean...the idea is nice but...this is..." her friend Rin winced as she took one look over at the price tag of the dress Sakura had held up. Her friend scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"It's fine. The gift is pretty much a get-out-of-jail-free card. They set themselves up for this." Her lips curled back, thinking to how her parents would react to the size of debt they had collected in under one day.

"Oh, Rin, this is cute. Cheap enough for your own wallet…" Chiyo smiled, pulling away her rust-colored locks to look over the summer dress. Rin immediately dashed alongside her other companion, agreeing along with her. "What about you Sakura? What do you prefer?" Chiyo turned, smoothing her white blouse as her attention tuned in on the birthday girl.

Sakura tilted her head aside, nose in the air. "Whatever is expensive."

"Really wanting to put a thorn in their side, eh?" a sigh perked Sakura's ears, and she only raised her chin higher. "I don't think Miss Natsuno-san would appreciate it..."

"Relax Rin!" Sakura already placed the red dress back onto the hanger, walking over to them with hands on her hips. "It's fine, they get paid too much to spend it all anyways."

That was generally how the rest of the shopping trip continued. After the short spa-trip they had—with Rin not wanting to spend another moment wasting someone else's money—they were travelling one of the most populated shopping districts within the center of Konoha's streets. Sakura continued ushering her two friends into every store that screamed "big money" in hopes to break the credit card. She didn't know who was on her side though because they kept thwarting her promises of expensive gifts with cheaper, simpler clothing.

So when they stopped by a vendor's stall to eat taiyaki, Rin took the moment to notice another street behind the stall. Only few people were scattered in the narrow area, but her eyes were focused on the tiny sign squished in tightly between two other stores towering overhead of it.

"Guys! Let's go to that thrift store over there!"

Like a kid running over to a candy shop, Rin took a final bite of her taiyaki, and rushed down past the vendor with her hand clasping Chiyo's, who-with her own dessert in her mouth-held tightly onto Sakura as they ran down like a train. Upon closer view, Sakura could read the sign above her head.

_Momochi Thrifts_

She quirked a brow, but looked on at an excited Rin as the door rang on their arrival. There was a blissful sigh escaping her brunette friend, but the rosette could tell why.

The area was disheveled, but held some sort of antiquity over it. A faint smell of nutmeg reminded her of the upcoming fall season, matching somehow nicely with the throng of old items in the small, overcrowded place. Chiyo took the first step, calling out to anyone behind the doors of the desk. "Hello? Is anyone on shift today...?"

It remained quiet, but it didn't stop Rin nor Sakura, from daring a step into the wonderful encompassment of the room. With the blended colors and the age of greens and blues, it felt like stepping into a break of time. "It's really nice here...smells nice too." Sakura spoke up, chuckling and drifting her hands against objects nearest to her.

"Yeah, Sakumo-kun would really like it." Rin chirped, and Chiyo could hear them all drifting slightly away from each other. She stayed put however at the cashier's desk, wondering if she should tap the bell before her, or call out with a more crude gesture for a worker.

"So would Minato-san." Sakura looked down to a table with journals, pens, inks, bottles, and old yellowed paper stacked oddly and misshapen onto each other. It only reminded her of the assignments that she needed to have done in a few days. "If only I could ask him to help me with my homework. He's had Hyuuga-sensei before in statistics right?" Sakura shifted her gaze to try to see the top of Rin's head, but was greeted only with the plethora of stacked books and boxes.

"Ah, yeah...I'll ask him about it." Chiyo looked to where she saw Rin peer from another throng of boxes and chests, smiling.

Her hands were moving past the papers and ink bottles, and it wasn't until she pricked her thumb that Sakura looked down to see a rusted old, metal thingy. She cursed silently, lifting her thumb to see the stupid object had drawn blood. Pressing the wound to her lips, the woman loomed over the object with a glare, eyes burning and quietly evaluating what in god's name the thing even was. Even being rusted and looking brittle, it caused some sort of damage.

"Seems you found our old selection of historic weapons." Sakura would have yelped at the sudden appearance, but instead bit hard onto her thumb. Hissing at her own stupidity, she turned to glare at—her—him—her.

Well, she didn't know exactly. Her brows creased then, not for a stern glare, but to the curiosity of the person before her. Like a woman, they had soft eyes, brows lightly trimmed, and long hair slipped back into a bun. However, the build of the person was a bit more muscular, and their face a little sharper and less slender.

The girl blushed a light pink as the person smiled at her. Then she knew.

"You're alright, Miss?" He tilted his head a little to inspect her thumb and Sakura couldn't help but nod. His smile softened even further, inclining his head low and looking back up with amusement flickering in his deep, brown eyes. "That's good, I wouldn't like to know that our old products caused you harm."

"O-Oh, u-uh...you...said weapon." He blinked, expecting a more different response, but breathed out a laugh. "So-so it's only normal if it would inflict pain..." Sakura mumbled, feeling her blush growing heavier.

"Yes, but I didn't think historical things like these would still be able to cause such damage, despite how used and worn they are..." he murmured, hands stretching out and past Sakura for the object that pricked her "I hope you had your shots." He chuckled with an attempt of a joke, but his customer merely paled. "Ah, please don't fret…it seems I still need work with my communications." He smiled down at her again.

"I-It's alright!" her hands raised themselves up, and the man merely blinked again, looking at her fingers. Sakura glanced to them as well, and immediately her hands went into the pockets of her shorts. "Its fine." she mumbled, biting her lip.

He noticed earlier after she had bit her thumb. The scars were quite minute in color, but ghastly to glance at. The quiver in her voice, hands fiddling with lint in her pocket. The man smiled. "Miss, please wait a moment." With that, he stepped aside and she watched him walking away.

Sakura took that moment to curse to herself. "Good going Sakura, scared away even the employee." she scolded herself in a hiss. Green eyes darted down to the weapon, and gingerly, carefully, lifted the handle of the object in her hand. Surprisingly, it was light. Very light.

The tip was sharp, despite what that man said. A ribbon, tattered and worn, looped around the handle and tied to another end loop that looked to fit just her finger. Rust over worn the small item, and looking back to where she picked it up, the girl found another four aligned in a neat row.

"Miss." Sakura turned, seeing the worker with a small box in hand. At least she didn't jump, hearing his heavy steps signaling his re-arrival. Quirking a brow, Sakura gently placed the rusty weapon back where she found it. Her gaze turned quietly to the employee. Seeing that his attention was given, he opened the small, blue box. "You can have these." She peered in to see two worn gloves.

Were her hands so unsightly that she had to have gloves? Pink brows furrowed in resignation. She wouldn't accept this offer!

"They are leather, old, but very comforting. I think you'll like them." His voice was soft, and it drove Sakura's glance upwards to see he was sincere. "Keep them."

"Are my scars that ugly?" she didn't mean to make it sound like a snarl.

"Every person has a reason. You seem to dislike looking at them. As a worker, I can't have a biased opinion." he smiled. Hesitantly, she blinked at him. He's not going to say.

"Thank...you." she mumbled, looking up and then away, feeling her face creep up again. "I-I'm Sakura." she reached for one glove, slipping it on.

It fit snugly against her fingers.

"Haku."

And then Chiyo and Rin ruined the moment with a loud screech emitting throughout the small room. Sakura looked up, fitting the second glove under her hands and following after Haku. To hear them so distressed-especially Rin-her heart suddenly drummed in a short rush. "Rin? Chiyo-chan?" Her voice coerced around for them, before she noted light brown hair peeking between a stack of books. "Rin?" Sakura cooed out, and said girl turned to see her.

"Sakura! I-It's..." her voice sounded grave, and the girl took a leap to be beside them. She only then noticed and looked up to see someone else.

Someone too large for her liking. He was like a tower-looming over all three girls. And, as her eyes drifted lower, she could realize why they screamed. Besides the few bandages on his arms, and his neck, the fact he had no eyebrows either, the man...

"Zabuza, you should have put a shirt on before going out to greet customers." Haku quipped, smiling up to his co-worker. Said man looked down, then down to his chest, before smirking at the three ladies.

"Virgins, you can tell." His voice rumbled and snickered down to them. "You'll have no problem wooing them Haku." Zabuza gave another laugh, breaking the hypnotic stares the trio had, turning their heads away from his form, and onto the boy beside Sakura.

Rin was fuming like a cherry. "R-R-Rude! I-I'll have you know in no way I'm a virgin!" The statement crippled everyone, but Sakura was first to regain composure as Zabuza returned to the doorway, "Hopefully to get a shirt," she whispered quietly to herself.

Haku stepped before the three of them and bowed with his body bent low enough to see his back. "I'm so terribly sorry for my friend's actions. Please, is there anything I can assist you three with?" when he looked back up, Sakura's heart gave out and she could see the worry written so plainly in his eyes.

She was the first to blurt out. "Books."

"Books?" Chiyo turned to look at her pink-locked friend, brows raised high to her headband. "You never said you wanted books—"

"I need new ones to stimulate my mind." She cut Chiyo before the woman tried to make a senile retort. "I've read all the latest stories and novels that were in the library so maybe some historical ones would be nice." Sakura beamed a bright, charming smile to Haku. He was then the one to blush slightly at her. "Would you happen to have some adventurous books? Something historical?"

Haku blinked, looking at her with a tilt of his head. Sakura loved books, she loved history-though there really wasn't much history in the founding of Konoha, to her dismay-and the idea of there being possibly _more_ other than what she knew from school would enlighten her very much. Her eyes were perceptive, hoping Haku could offer her something.

"I think I may have something that you could want. If you'd follow me." He bowed to them with a tip of his head, and ushered the three to through the same door.

"We usually keep the rarities close in the shop."

The scent of nutmeg grew ten times stronger, flaring Sakura's nostrils at the unique scent. The lights were much dimmer as she looked around herself. Chiyo was already eyeing something behind a glass container, while Rin was skimming the edge of a shelf loaded with chests and boxes.

The very back, besides another door, held a long, tall line of books. Haku pressed his fingers lightly to the small of Sakura's back, making the woman tense for a moment and turn to see him only giving his placid smile. "This way, Sakura-san."

The shop seemed bigger in the back, from how wide and colorful lanterns and kites lifted the ceiling. And the bookshelves suddenly grew much larger as she walked up to them. Haku pulled his hand away, standing beside the younger girl and the bookcase as though he were greeting guests.

"These are our rarities, if you'd like books on history, you can take some of these." She nodded, her hands already reaching out for one on the shelf but the worker suddenly held her gloved palm quickly, inches from the spine of a book. "Please, Sakura-san, be careful with them. They are very fragile."

She nodded again, and waited as he looked down to her gloves with another curve of his lips, sliding his hand away from her own. "Each is unique, but each also has the same end."

"Wait—what do you me—" but he had turned away, off to help Chiyo who was looking really interested in whatever was in that glass case.

Being left alone with the books, Sakura turned her gaze up to the long rows. Haku wasn't joking about them, they were all quite old. Their spines looked as though they were holding on, and the way that the edges looked burnt and torn, it seemed there was a big mess over them.

The books held history in not just their looks, but in their weight. Some were several inches wide! Bigger than a dictionary, bigger than the book catalogues! It suddenly became a challenge, as Sakura curled her lips up at the idea. She could take down text that big in under a week. She leaned her head sideways, reading the names off.

"Tsu-Tsunade?"

"Itachi…"

"Eh? Rock…Lee?" she looked to the faded letters of a row of books, brows knitting together. The titles were quite unexpected. They just listed off names. Surely, they are authors?

She looked back to Haku, still assisting Chiyo. His hands held a long, wooden arm, and the sight of it only made Sakura shudder. It looked like it was decaying—it almost looked real—and seemed as old as the books behind her. Her eyes then looked over to Rin, who was shuffling in a box, one of those metallic "historical weapons" on the loop of her finger.

_"Haruno."_

"Eh?" her head whipped around, hearing the suddenly deep voice. The pinkette expected to see Zabuza at the end of the door, and looked around curiously to see if he had been calling for someone. Yet, he was nowhere in sight.

_"Haruno."_

_ "Sakura?"_

Soft voices called out, and she whirled again on the spot. A much more feminine voice cooed to her, and Sakura stifled another shudder. "Where?" she mumbled, looking around anxiously. It had yet to occur to her that antiques could be cursed.

Ghosts don't exist though, right?

Before she began to walk to Chiyo, like little whispers a flutter of wind seemed to appear past her, tickling the back of her neck. Her hands dug into the leather of her gloves, turning around slowly to look to the shelf.

And that's when a book toppled onto the floor.

She didn't dare turn, but could _feel_ Haku's gaze.

.

.

"That'll be three-hundred, ninety-five thousand and five hundred yen." Haku smiled forcibly, lips curled a bit too high than how they had been previously, and Sakura numbly nodded as she handed him the little blue, plastic card. There was a snicker, and a snort as Chiyo and Rin were talking right behind her.

"Good goin' Sakura, seems you got your wish, yeah?" Chiyo snorted again, a hand covering her mouth as she tried to not burst out laughing at her poor friend. Why, oh why did Sakura bring her senile, rude friend?

"Ehh, well it's true," Rin began, licking her lips and fighting hard not to grin. "You _did_ want to let your parent's how badly you wanted those books, right? They won't mind."

The rose-haired girl merely turned and snarled at them, daring them to say another word. While it was true, she spent more than she wished, she felt so bad for her mistakes, she felt horrible for how _Haku_ must have felt. He seemed to take care of these books like they were children, grooming them from getting any worse for wear.

And one of them just _dropped_, like that, onto the floor.

She felt so horrible for it, she randomly picked up three other books and wished to purchase all four of them!

They were damn expensive.

They were also damn heavy.

Haku looked over, bowing his head to them as he handed the card back to Sakura. He looked to her gloved hands, before his eyes softened.

"Please, have a good day." He bowed yet again, and met those minty-green eyes and tilted his head. "Sakura-san."

With that, Sakura bowed with sincerity and quickly walked out with her two friends hot on her heels. Embarrassment flushed her features as she escaped the narrow buildings, and tossed back into the throng of populated people in the main shopping district.

Zabuza took that very moment to walk out. He looked on at the three as they left their doors, before looking down to a particularly happy Haku. He gave the shorter man a questioning gaze. "What's up?"

Haku chuckled, waving a receipt in his hand. "We made a bit of money, enough to keep the shop running for a long time."

"I see, what'd she buy?" His dark eyes looked back lazily to the entrance.

"Four of the books in the back."

His eyes then widened, looking down to his employee with shock. Haku waved his hand with the paper still, shaking his head.

"This one's different Zabuza-san. She seemed…familiar." He brushed back his bang to look to his boss, lips pulled to a taught line. "I feel like I've met her before."

Zabuza rolled his eyes, scrutinizing his gaze down. "Just because you _think_ you're a psychic gives you no right to force her to purchase those relics, Haku." His voice rumbled deep, eyes narrowing down. "Four? That other lady couldn't get past one, and you know what the news said about that woman."

Haku pressed the slip of paper to Zabuza, rolling his eyes. "Yes, so shocked she tried to run away, only to be killed in the outskirts of the city. I know, it was hard snatching that book back, after the Lord Hokage almost caught on to it." His tone was more casual than before, caring less about whoever that person was.

"Trust me, this one was different."

"And what makes you so sure?"

Haku looked up, grinning just a little to his friend.

"Because they called her."

* * *

**Koucha here!**

_395,500 Yen: ¥395,500 = roughly $4060.00 USD_

_Taiyaki たいやき:_ _Fish-shaped cake, that could be filled with sweet azuki, savory fillings, or even custard._ I like to eat the chocolate-custard taiyaki u/u

There is a pattern here concerning the characters, I wonder if anyone can figure it out?

I hope this isn't too boring. Even if it is, I'm continuing it to the end!

Thank you if you've read it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I wish, I could only wish.

Please read and enjoy! More_ details, hint's, and author note_ at the end.

_**Chapter 3:** Memories Unfamiliar_

* * *

The woman snickered behind her friend.

"Ugh, _Chiyo_, please stop with the jokes."

"C'mon Sakura-chan. Just do some more pushups and you'll be able to carry those without sweating from the pits."

Her friend always had some sort of affection for making her feel miserable, it seemed.

The books were heavy, but at least not as heavy as her backpack had been under Hyuuga-sensei's mock-up exams. Now, after two hours since the visit to the thrift shop, Sakura and Chiyo were finally resting in a small café. Sitting in a booth beside the window, Chiyo looked over to Sakura with a frown and narrowed her scrutinizing gaze at her. Not even a moment after taking a rest her friend had already plucked a book from the bag and placed it onto the table.

"Honestly, you're such a bookworm." She muttered, fingers pulling away rusty strands of hair to look into the window. "If it isn't Mikoto's novels, it's always something else." She glanced to see if Sakura was even paying attention to her. With the way her eyes were focused down to the covering of the novel she already knew Sakura was gone. Silently the woman wished Rin hadn't run off at the sight of Hizashi in the marketplace.

"Sakura."

"…"

"Sakura?"

"…"

Said woman was already lost in the context of the first page, reading each word in an attempt to carve into her memory. Chiyo figured that she wouldn't be talking for a while and so her dark eyes looked up to the sky—or what little she could see from her side of the window—and sighed.

Buildings seemed to be growing taller and taller each year, it was becoming a nuisance for one like her who had a love for nature. Everything seemed to be made concrete and fake just like the grass on her front lawn. At least the antique-thrift store was more _natural_ in appearance.

She wasn't swayed by the artifacts when she waited by the cashier desk. They could have been faked and painted to give the effect of aged relics. But then Zabuza appeared after Rin had, and his sudden appearance made her only believe that either one; the shop was _really_ fake and they forced people to buy things upon arrival, or two; a secret mafia actually held rare, _rare_ artifacts that would cost her more than an arm and a leg.

Then right after they were brought into the back her eyes had rested directly to the object behind the glass case. She couldn't remember anything around her but the long coffin-like casing itself as she made a bee-line straight for it. She was caught enchanted by the sight of it. It was old and preserved like a body—it could have been a body—her eyes never tore away from it.

.

It was a girl, with the way her skin was slightly wrinkled as though it was beginning to be mummified and long, black hair over her scalp. Her eyes were closed, and an arm rested beside the body in a nice, satin colored sheet. The woman knew it wasn't a real person, just by the small hint of the wooden carvings within the socket of the arm that was broken off. It was a pretty woman, sleeping like an imposter to Snow White.

Still, she had never seen such a thing before.

"Looks as though you've taken an eye to one of our oldest."

Haku smiled at her upon approach and with keys pulled from his pockets he unlocked the case. His hands reached in, and Chiyo watched on as he held the detached arm up for her to gaze upon. She looked to the body in the case, then to the limb before finally glancing up warily to Haku's eyes. "You can touch it—it's not going to deteriorate." He chuckled, but she didn't hear his humor. It really looked like it would have crumbled apart at any moment.

She accepted his offer when her fingers touched the puppet's forearm, noting that the texture was actually wood. "Amazing…" she mumbled below her breath. "I've never seen such a thing like this up close."

Haku smiled. "It's called _Haha no Sasori_."

She reached again for the puppet arm but flinched at the sudden clatter and she looked behind herself to see Sakura dropping a book onto the floor. "What an idiot." She mumbled before turning to see that Haku had already returned the limb back to its resting spot. The woman looked over the glass case with soft eyes over the features of the makeshift person, smiling to herself.

It felt nostalgic to see it.

.

"_Chiyo-chan?" _

She blinked, tearing her eyes away from the sky and snapping her piercing gaze to her friend. Sakura lifted a brow, looking as though she were biting her cheek. "Huh, what?"

"You were spacing out—I've been calling you." Chiyo snorted and rolled her eyes. "You should check out these books Chiyo-chan! They're really…unique."

Sakura held up the best-conditioned book out of the group, grinning like a child. It looked more of like an old journal that was the size of her head. "They already mention tons of things in the first chapter! Like how there was a Hokage named Hashirama and—"

Her mouth parted to silence her idealistic friend. "Clearly that book is an outright _lie_." Chiyo rolled her eyes once more, voice irritated at the information. Another Hokage? Maybe that Haku and Zabuza really did cheat poor Sakura of her money.

"Well, doesn't that make it interesting? Hokage Hashir—"

"There is no Hashiranda—rama—whatever Sakura, even _you_ know that. We had a lecture about Konoha's founding just last week." She sighed, reaching up to adjust her black headband and looking pointedly to her pink-haired friend. "Lord Hokage wouldn't tolerate your thoughts nor your attitude." It was true, in a sense. It was blasphemy to even think that someone else had founded and lead Konoha's society to what it was now. It sounded like lies.

_They were all lies._

Sakura's book, Chiyo quietly meant. Her friend seemed to opt to say something else, but the waiter managed to silence Sakura's tongue with the soft clatter of their tea. "Thank you." She mumbled instead.

The tea would keep Sakura in silence, but only for a few minutes. "Sakura, I have to head home after this." Chiyo quipped, sipping her drink and looking over to her with a curt nod. "My parents want me to hurry home so I can help them move some of our furniture in." She took another long sip of her tea, glancing to the book Sakura held close beside her.

"Fine, fine. Be that way! I don't need you to keep me company." Sakura huffed, sticking her tongue out and raising her chin.

"Of course not, you have your books."

"Exactly!"

"Wait until you run out of your childish stories to read." She gave a smug smirk. "At least you'll have your homework to work on too, without me or Rin to assist you. You'll have plenty of things to occupy you." With that, she rose from her seat, fiddling in her pockets for change and placing it atop of the stack of books. "See you later Sakura-chan." Tipping her head, she walked away, reddish hair blending then with everyone else, until she was removed from the woman's view. Her friend glanced to the change, frowning and suddenly now tasting the bitterness of her tea as it slipped down her throat.

"Chiyo…you always sound like an old crone."

.

.

They weren't necessarily autobiographies, but actually stories.

_Under the unwavering eyes of his master, he looked then to his brother. Just like Danzo's own, they were heartless. _

_When the Lord dispersed under a guise of smoke, he ran. _

_He ran and ran like a rabbit under the eyes of a predator, his breath breaking and calling out to his comrade. As a kunai pierced the side of his cheek it only provoked the young boy to move faster and harder. He couldn't retrieve his own weapons, he'd be too slow to do so._

_He cried out for his brother to acknowledge he'd never harm him, but the former merely stood overhead, eyes looming down as though he was near the end of giving a final blow. _

"_Shin—"_

Sakura scratched the side of her head, looking to the TV that she turned on for background noise as she continued reading. So far the man was unlike any character she had read. It matched even Mikoto's writings. She never heard of people forced under training, much less having to murder one another.

What kind of world was this?

Her eyes focused a little more, the small novel regaining her attention.

_When he stood beside the other member he smiled. Lips curled as though forced, he looked to the three that were perched across from him. They seemed shocked, and he wondered why that would be, and opened inky black eyes to look into ocean-blue and jasmine-green. _

"_It's a pleasure to be working with you. Please call me Sai." He gave a curt nod to each, even to the other shinobi with the mask that overlooked the one beside him. _

"_I'm Naruto!" He heard, looking away from the blonde. _

"_Sakura." He nodded to her as well._

"_Well, I hope we get along." Another forced lift of his lips and a humble smile touched his features. He'd have to become used to such gestures. He'd need them for their trust._

Sakura? Her eyes widened, looking and re-reading the short context. Green eyes? Sakura? _Such an odd coincidence._ She snorted to herself. Next thing the novel will say was that the character's hair was pink.

She pulled the book aside on the mattress, looking to the window and seeing the sun starting to set. It'd be good to have something to eat. So the girl stood, stretching her arms as she began to walk out to the stairs.

Sakura was never clumsy, but her feet suddenly tripped over one another when she was about to turn to look up to the stair case.

"_Sakura?"_

The name rang clear in her head just as she slipped, her arms bracing her head immediately for impact to the wooden floor. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to scream out instinctively the moment she was tossed in the air.

"_Ugly!"_

Then, there was a twirl, as if someone grasped her shoulder and spun her around. She stared as the whirl of plain white caught her eyes before stopping and was now looking to the hall and the entrance to the front door. Her pink head bobbed down to see she was only a few steps from the bottom. Her heart hammered hard in her chest, eyes wide and legs starting to quake.

"Ugh!" she pushed the fear down and favored in anger with a punch to the side of the wall, biting profanities from skipping out of her throat. Stomping into the kitchen she angrily opened the fridge, hissing as she scoured around for something to eat. She remained frustrated at herself for stumbling so easily on the stupid steps.

_The steps_, she reminded herself, hissing as she faintly heard a familiar nickname pick the back of her head. _It was the steps._

Stealing a drink and a few apples from the fridge, she headed to the hall, kicking the base of the stairs with a smug, content grin. "Stupid hunk of wood." Seeing that the object received its punishment Sakura moved back up to her room, much more mindful of how she walked.

.

.

The transition of afternoon to night sped by like a comet. Lights lit the surface of the city, and Sakura took the time to close the curtains and shutter her window. The TV still on, she flickered the lamp to life, pulling the novel with her as she tucked herself cozily into bed.

_He couldn't save her. He wouldn't. _

_He was only under the obligation of targeting Sasuke. After the information that was received by Orochimaru's plans and whereabouts, his mission would come to fruition._

_He didn't blink as he passed Sakura who was now toppling over the bridge. If he did this right, he wouldn't need to see Naruto, Yamato, or the pink-nin for a long time. He'd be revered and praised under Danzo's watch._

_Complete the mission._

Sakura read the yellowed paper, looking over the words. The man was heartless. Emotionlessly cruel! The Sakura—Haruno—had tried to befriend him numerous times over, why'd he just let her die? It was like he didn't care.

But that was normal, for his case, she supposed.

She didn't realize her jaw was clenched and her teeth were grinding against each other as she continued to read over the words. Not until she heard the small _crack_, did she finally wince and gasp at the short splinter of pain.

"Damn, Sai. Could you be anymore heartless?"

For a hundred-thousand yen, his story better have a good ending. The sleepy girl was already feeling a short tantrum splitting in her head from the man's actions. If she were Sakura Haruno, she'd punch the daylights out of him and made sure he bled tears before she'd forgive him!

As the comical thought rested in her mind with terrifyingly acute images, her anger quickly smoldered down.

Her eyes read the light buzzing from the clock. "Just another hour and I'll put the book away." She assured herself, knowing she kept well to being timely with her schedule.

.

.

_Sai mumbled curses to himself, seeing his company was in danger. There was a time when he'd care less—much less—and get his mission done, and head home without a need for anyone else. But he had friends now, comrades and companions he couldn't allow to just die on the battlefield. _

_With those clumps of white flesh hindering them from proceeding to meet with Naruto at the battlefield, he began drawing onto the paper scrolls in his pack._

_He would end this savage side of his war and return to assist Naruto. He needed him, and they were friends, weren't they?_

"_Yes." Sai murmured again, seeing his tigers unleashed from the paint and tackle one of the ninja's jugular, ripping apart white flesh like clumps of clay._

"_Naruto and Sakura need me."_

It was weird.

No.

It was becoming very, very frightening. Especially how they kept re-stating her name, her physical traits, though many of it sounded so far-fetched that it was stunning her like some sort of paralysis. This was supposed to be a historical relic—like a journal or something—that helped her with learning things of the past! Not about some weird, emotionless guy named Sai—something.

She learned a few things though, she wouldn't admit truly to herself. Chakra was a new term, so was Jutsu and Shinobi. And another Hokage—a Godaime—named Tsunade appeared more than once.

Surprisingly, the mention of the other countries piqued her train of thought too. They only ever affiliated with Kumo and Otogakure. Suna was known to be resting beneath the sand over a hundred years ago so, how old could the book actually be?

The hour had passed quickly, and dutifully she placed the novel on the desk, flickering off the lights and began her quiet contemplation on the ongoing story before letting the darkness ease her thoughts to rest.

.

.

"_You're such an idiot!" Her voice roared like a lion, and the next thing she knew was her fist pressed itself lightly against the pale man's face._

_Lightly being an understatement. The moment she made contact with her gloved hands, he was soaring high above the thatched roofs, up, up like an eagle in the sky. Her anger fluctuated like a fire and chased his limp form with each leap on the wooden buildings, aiming to catching him only to cause more damage._

"_Sai! You better not pass out on me you bastard!" she hissed, catching the back of his shirt and flipping over a small house, landing neatly on the street. She looked down to him with a snort._

_His inky black hair was mussed from the wind and she never thought his face could become any paler. He was still alive just by how his eyes darted from the sky to her own narrowed glare. _

"_S-Sakura-san." He mumbled, pulling a false smile onto his features. _

"_I'm waiting." She hissed out, teeth grinding against the other._

"…_So-sorry." He bit out. Dirt collided into his face as he sputtered and coughed out the debris, her hands clapping and she suddenly smiled as though he complimented her. _

"_Sai, thank you." Her voice was light and happy, squatting down beside him. Her hands weaved a faint green glow as she brought her fingers carefully over his abdomen. _

"_Not a problem, Ugly." He tried his best not to yelp or think over the cracking sound of his rib._

A sudden startle and her eyes fluttered open slowly in the dark, moaning softly with the ache in her head.

"_Ugly, it seems that Dickless can't stop talking about you. You should be happy that he seems to be the only one willing to have a likeness to your hag-like face."_

"Sai, please." She muttered, huffing and rolling into her pillow with a groan.

"_Hag, are you listening? We have new orders. Hurry up and get out."_

"_Naruto-kun needs us Sakura."_

"_Sakura…"_

"Please…stop." Wearily her eyes opened a little wider as her vision continued to be bleary. One moment she was staring at the blackness of her walls, and now?

There was a white blur smudged in the center of her vision.

Her vision didn't clear yet the white smear was growing closer rapidly as if they were running. Her heart drummed upbeat and into life. A moment she was staying in her bed and the next Sakura was up on her feet, tangles of sheets tumbling around her legs as she collapsed over the edge of her mattress.

"Wo-Woah!?" A screech soon emptied from her lips and pierced her ears. She quickly kicked her legs up in terror as she freed herself of the damn cover. The frightened pinkette whipped her head around fast with eyes suddenly darting around her room. As her sight finally cleared itself, Sakura then saw nothing but the TV, her horribly messy bed, and the stacks of white paper on the desk.

The curtains fluttered to the newly opened window.

.

.

When morning broke she was slowly reawakening in her parent's bedroom with complaints and nonsense muttered under her breath.

The first thoughts that entered her mind were of last night's terror-inducing experience. She barely slept for two hours until finally digging in her mother's cabinet for pills. After that the girl let the lights remain on for the rest of the night to hopefully keep whatever it was at bay. Sakura only groaned as she opened her eyes not to a blissful dawn but brilliant, fluorescent lights burning her sight.

She certainly didn't want to be alone until her parent's came home.

"Maybe I should call Chiyo to spend the night…" she mumbled, inspecting the small forms of bags circling her eyes. "Then again I'll be stuck with her snide comments."

An hour passed before she locked the doors to her house, turning and beginning to walk down the street. She watched as other students slowly filed out of their own homes before cheering and laughing along with one another as they made their way. Her mind, however still wavered to the thoughts of what had occurred in her room.

She certainly didn't remember conjuring some sort of monster. Hopefully she didn't, with how her temper sometimes blindsided her, anything could have been possible. Sakura silently blamed her parent's late return for her recent outbursts though. _It was their entire fault anyways._ She thought bitterly.

Still, it was definitely worth asking one of her friends to stay for a little while until her parent's returned. Sakura continued walking down the streets, unaware as her feet knew where she was going. "Mikoto-chan maybe…or Rin." Sakura took a few lazy steps as she continued to sort her muddled and clouded thoughts.

"_Mikoto?" _

She froze mid-step, eyes widening at the surprise he had on her. It was a deep voice that rang into her ears with an immediate shudder, but the owner of the voice was what brought her to turn and bend forward into a bow as low as possible. She held her breath in silence, waiting until her name was spoken.

"Sakura-san, please rise. I asked you to stop addressing yourself to me in such a way a long time ago." Despite what he said she still kept her position and continued staring down to polished, black shoes.

"Forgive me, Itachi-sama, but I mustn't adhere to such a request." She waited another moment, before finally raising her head and standing straight, looking to her classmate with a frown. "I didn't mean to speak of Mikoto-san as though you weren't there. I truly didn't know you were right behi—"

"Continue walking." It wasn't stern, but a command nonetheless. Sakura began walking quickly with heart thrumming into a fast rhythm. Her steps sounded as though they were doubled when she noticed that he was following beside her in a similar pattern. She continued looking up ahead the streets, seeing the edge of the large household she now crossed and left behind. _Good going Sakura, you should have paid more attention and avoided the damn compound altogether. _

The steps were silently uncomfortable. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, walking a little faster now as she saw the Academy slowly peeking into view.

"No need to be." His pretty onyx eyes were smiling down at her, even if his lips refused to do so. "You were speaking of Mikoto earlier, is something the matter?"

Itachi eyed her pink hair with amusement as the long locks bobbed against her back in her steps. How peculiar, for her to be walking right across the Uchiha's compound and not even notice? Her minty-green eyes caught his interest as she glanced to him briefly. They were much darker than last time he met her.

"I've—erm…I'm sorry you have to hear my worries Itachi-sama. I was going to ask if I could see Mikoto-san and see if she'd be nice enough to…" she bit her lip, and her eyes closed as she did her best to sound polite to him. "To, _honor_ my house with her presence, for a few nights."

A soft rumble nestled deep in his throat.

"Hn."

Her blood immediately boiled. Sakura did her best around the Uchiha's—except Mikoto-chan—especially him and Shisui. The two were known to be the next in line to receive the Hokage's Honor, and she was like every other citizen in belittling themselves to the sight of them. To speak to them the honorific was always used and praised under her tongue.

Her hands curled into themselves as she fought her temper. It set her off the most when those with the Uchiha blood reveled in their people's actions. They always acted so grand and mighty. Her friend was different.

She had to praise Mikoto as Mikoto-sama or "san" depending on which of their family members were with them. Sakura was only relieved that it was Itachi that met her and not someone like Izuna, or Kagami.

"I'll ask Mikoto about those matters later." He looked down to her and tilted the corner of his lips. "For now, you'll have to do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the Academy, dear Sakura-san."

"I-Itachi-sama, please, there's no need for a civilian like me to be…_graced_…with such a notion." She smiled up at him but he could see the forcefulness. He smirked at the tone that the venom was traced in. The odd-haired girl always amused him whenever she tried her best to speak to him in such a way.

He licked his lips, and gracefully pulled his arm under hers. "Sakura-san, please allow me."

She always did her best.

So she smiled up at him, even blushed as he touched her hands.

"Your gloves are new." He mumbled, looking up to see that they would have quite a walk to the Academy. Itachi noticed another movement of her hair.

"It was a gift."

His breath was caught silently at the words, and moved to feel the fabric of her latest adornment. His fingers locked between hers delicately and silently he only wished her name wasn't Natsuno, but Uchiha.

Damn his bloodline.

* * *

**Koucha Here!**

_Haha no Sasori はは の さそり: Is roughly "Scorpion Mother"_

_Chiyo-Chan: She was actually suppose to be replaced by Ayame, but I made a quick change, otherwise the character wouldn't fit in well. If you haven't noticed yet, she moved recently to Konoha. _

_**Itachi-Sama/Mikoto-Sama:**_

_Ah yes! More hints. I think I dropped off a good detail of the life in Konoha here now. It is Sakura-Centric, but I'll try and let characters who have some sort of feeling for her be subtle. To be honest, being able to include Itachi wasn't what I was expecting. I do have a good idea of how far I'll be able to take this whole new Konoha-Universe._

_.. .. .._

I gave away another hint to the characters. Someone (Lady Lys, thank you by the way!) seems to have a good idea! Now if only I knew if we're thinking the same thing...

Despite that this was the longest chapter so far, it feels rushed, and I'm not sure if that's alright, and I think I may have rushed details from Sai's book too quickly. Then again my writing is odd...

Concerning to people will think I got details wrong with Sai's story: It's not ideal for me to go back and double check my resources, and I do to the best of my ability to make it as close to canon as possible! However, everyone doesn't know every detail, past, or memory a character could have, so I just enter some moments that maybe Sakura could help identify Sai better. (Or Sai himself.) Expect this a little more often, some of the books Sakura reads will be off-course eventually.

Please, read and review! It would help me alot to know if people do like the story or not. Even some advice would do very well!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

Please see after the chapter for comments, and author's note!

_**Chapter 4:** Broken Recollections?_

* * *

Second period had started only for an hour and it was already making Sakura groan and sweat more than she would have wished to. She looked up to the bright blue sky with prayers for huge, white and fluffy clouds to at least share some sort of shade, but was still only given the blistering heat and the hot, bright sun stinging her back.

The pinkette's legs were aching as she jogged alongside her classmates on the track behind the Academy, doing her best to breathe evenly. _Monday's are the worst. _Sakura thought bitterly, the tingling sensation of growing numbness were pressing into her muscles. It wasn't just her legs that were beginning to throb from the excursion either; her throat was growing dry quickly from the sharp intakes of breath, and her arms were beginning to feel heavy like weights, slowing her pace against her friend. They had been jogging along the track for almost an hour and silently Sakura was waiting for class to end.

The clomping of steps beside her grew louder, panting following along with them. "One more lap, Sakura, we…" Rin sucked in a breath, looking ahead to another group of students running. Sakura could hear her own heavy breaths becoming more ragged. "And we'll be done!" The brunette looked to her friend with the best smile she could muster, before curving her lips downward. Her green eyes watched as her friend suddenly held determination in her brown eyes, and with a blink, she was already merging into the group ahead.

It was hard to believe that after this class Sakura would have another two classes that revolved around the same subject. Then again, this _was_ what the Academy was renowned for.

Physical training was always of higher worth compared to the logistical academics, something that Sakura preferred much more. The Academy required each student to maintain a total of two to three hours of training classes each _day_. It was farfetched as a first thought for the girl, but after the first few weeks, it became a normal task. It didn't make the work any less pleasant though.

It was very rare for the pink-haired girl to see another student that seemed just a bit too bent-out-of-shape. Even then, she wouldn't see them around the halls much after that, if not at all. Every student seemed to become very fit within the beginning of the year, despite gender or stature. Once, she recalled how her mother described her own figure telling the young twelve year old of her past that she was "becoming a very promising woman".

Being known as the _ideal_ learning facility, word of the Academy had spread across its allied countries and encouraged their own people to attend. It was because of this, that Sakura would see foreigners from both Kumo and Otagakure on a daily basis.

She could have enrolled in a more localized, public school but the pinkette desired the best learning experience. All the prodigies, the highly talented and brilliant teachers resided their lectures and lessons within the confines of the Academy. Many people have said that those who had graduated from the Academy are automatically hired for jobs—so Sakura had heard—only making her, and her parents, promote the idea to attend from long ago. However she soon realized after enrolling, that in return for knowledge, she had to give something up as collateral.

She continued running down the dirt-ridden track, thinking bitterly to her old choices. She honestly thought her pro's outweighed the cons.

"Sakura!" she blinked, green eyes looking past her thoughts to concerning pools of brown. Rin had slowed her pace slightly, allowing her pink-locked friend to reluctantly speed up to her.

Sakura shuddered and tried to even her breath, "Y-Yeah?"

"Gekko-sensei is eyeing you." Rin continued staring to her classmates, seeing the finishing mark a little farther ahead. Sakura took the moment to glance briefly to the sidelines to see that yes, her teacher was staring at her with narrowed eyes. Rin continued on, her voice and momentum even, "You know what happens to those who are falling behind.." she trailed off and finally looked to her with another frown. "You need to pick up the pace—like right now—or he'll just push you another fifty meters."

She must have been grimacing at the thought, because her friend continued with a smile. "Don't worry, just give it your all! Put your heart into it!" And with that, Rin dashed back into the crowd, leaving Sakura to trail behind on her own.

_Why not take one for the team and you do it?! _Sakura narrowed her eyes at her friend's back, biting her cheek from yelling out at her. _I don't see the point of having to do this anyways. Three hours of work…making us constantly sweat until we're damn close to exhaustion…we're not cattle!_ She hissed to her mind, forcing herself to try to catch up to her class.

_But we're close to it._

She snuck another peek to her teacher, taking note that he was already scribbling something down on his clipboard. Her mouth opened to take in another gulp of air—like a fish out of water—all while trying to ignore the edging pain in her legs. _Put your heart into it?! That's some shit…_

There's no way to beat the entire class with such a short expanse of time. She'll just have to suck it up and do the extra fifty. Sakura pushed on, her weight shifting to her toes as she sped up just a little, focusing her attention to a boy a few meters before her. She stared at his blonde hair and as she did so, she waited for Gekko-sensei to call her out for another lap.

_He looks familiar…_ She thought, watching idly as his blonde, choppy strands bounced along with his steps. There was some sort of familiarity with his stride. _Almost like Minato_. She blinked and watched him turn to laugh at whatever his friend had said.

"_Sakura-chan!" _

Suddenly hearing her name, she looked back to her teacher. Hayate was looking more at the clipboard rather than her. For a moment the rosette thought he was the one who called her, but what instructor would use such a suffix with their student?

"_You're always falling behind."_ A much cooler voice echoed farther…ahead? Or behind? She gritted her teeth at the response nonetheless and her feet forced themselves to pick up the pace. Her legs were growing pass the aches and ebbing into numbness. Maybe it was one of those boys ahead that she saw quite a few looking back to her as they spoke.

"Always behind.."

"She's in my weight-lifting class too—Asuma makes her do another set each time!"

"Surprise she hasn't even developed much…this is her third year isn't it?"

Sakura took in a steadying breath as she tried to dash to her classmates, green eyes steady on the blonde boy. She smiled a little in the victory as she was finally nearing the group, a few people just within arm's reach. Soon enough she'll be able to merge past them and make it to the front! She kept her tempo, seeing the end of the finishing mark so near to her.

And then she faltered.

It was a sudden whirl beneath her eyes. Everything, everyone, became blurs underneath her vision and she winced at the sudden turbulent warp of her mind. It was aching, like pinpricks with her skull as the cushion. It felt like needles digging into the back of her head as she blinked as much as she could in attempts to rid herself of the sudden blurriness.

Her body dropped like deadweight and collapsed to the ground with a soft groan just escaping her lips. There was a faint _pop_ somewhere around her but she couldn't think too much of it. A messy, large blur of grays and whites continued on without her before she finally heard her friend shouting out her name. Soon enough it became a chorus of calls filling her ears. Despite the worry over her condition or of any possible pains she should be feeling, the rosette's mind was only on one thing.

"Sakura!"

"N-Natsuno-san?!"

"Ah—shit here we go—Gekko-sensei!"

When was her classmate wearing an _orange jumpsuit_?

.

.

_So many images flashed through her, flickering like fragments of light as she looked passed them all. _

"_Sasuke—" Her lips parted faintly in the night, looking to the back of a young boy with black hair._

"_Sasuke—no..no.." she mumbled. Her hands reached out for him as her voice was slowly fading to nothing._

_._

"_Look how far you've grown." She smiled up to a blonde woman, whose almond eyes shone down to her with pride sparking within them. "You've become a wonderful apprentice. Enough to surpass even myself, Sakura."_

_She giggled as her mentor ruffled her choppy hair._

_._

_The flickers of light came quickly as they went, wafting over her form before she realized she had been standing in the dark._

_._

_Her eyes stayed closed and remained shut into the makeshift-night, but slowly the hues of deep blues and greens eased their way before her eyes. The sound of leaves rustling and birds chirping began to awaken her. With a slow ease she blinked around herself, taking in the color of the sky before her jewel-colored eyes looked ahead of her._

"_Today let's see if you kids can manage this." _

_Sakura was smothered beneath the shade, leaves, twigs and dirt as nature had surrounded her completely, tall grass skimming her ankles and tickling her nerves. She stared, looking up to the voice that called out. A man with shaggy white hair stood tall before her, completed in a thick green vest and baggy pants. He was well geared too—she noticed—with many slivers of light glinting off where a pouch on his waist was opened. _

_She looked back to his face to see that his lone eye was smiling at her and maybe his lips too, if it weren't covered by the mask. His headband covered his other pupil, and she looked at a thin engraving on its silver mantle._

_She didn't stare for long. He brusquely walked to one of the trees, and with a lift of his leg, his body shifted from normal upright position, to a sudden horizontal shift. He looked on at her still with the shift of his mask still hinting to his smile. Her eyes widened at the sight._

"_Woah! Kakashi-sensei, how did you do that?!"_

_Sakura turned quickly, eyes focusing to the new voice. A boy with choppy blonde hair, and stray whiskered marks adorned his face. His body was covered in bright blue and orange hues, forcing the girl to drag her gaze away to the obnoxious combination. She blinked, looking to her other side to see another boy. He didn't bother to glance at her, but kept his attention towards his teacher. _

"_Simple," finally her gaze shifted back to the older male. He looked to each of them, and she could see the way his mask creased underneath that he was speaking. "Focus your chakra onto your feet—concentrate—you'll be able to walk like this with ease." To prove his point, the man casually walked up the bark as though he were taking a stroll._

"_Ehh?" She glanced to the blonde boy again to see his befuddlement. Her lips prompted themselves open without hesitation. _

"_Naruto, you're not thinking this through, it's just simple maneu.." But the boy wouldn't let her finish. Suddenly he ran up to one of the tall trees and proceeded to go only two, maybe three feet onto the bark, before falling onto his back. _

"_This idiot." Slowly her gaze turned again to the coal-haired boy beside her, seeing him casually walk up to different tree and stare at it. There was a smirk even in his voice. "Just put chakra to your feet, hm?" He looked to Kakashi before giving his own attempt, lifting a leg and then—instead of walking like their teacher had—run up only a foot or so before losing grip and landing back onto his feet with a grunt._

_She was completely lost. They thought they could do this?! To be able to walk—to—to do the impossible? She looked up to the top of the tree and towards the masked man._

"_H-How…" she began, and a pair of onxy-black and sky-blue eyes turned their sight onto her. Her teacher too, descended back to the ground and directed a lazy gaze to her. "H-How would…I use…chakra?" she managed out. It felt hard to be able to force her lips to form them. Her pink brows quickly furrowed together, knowing just a moment before, she spoke without such uncertainty. _

_She had never seen these three before, yet they seemed to know her fairly well. The sight of the blonde's face had made the back of her head suddenly throb._

_Kakshi stared at her with a shifting glint in his lone eye, making the girl herself uncomfortable. A hand rested on her head, feeling through her long hair for any bumps or bruising, but found none. Suddenly the pain ceased. Her hands tangled themselves and shifted them from the men's view._

"_It's easy." The words suddenly slipped out of her mouth. "Shift your chakra into your feet and keep your focus. You just need to control and maneuver it." And without hesitation she walked proudly to the trunk Naruto attempted, and placed one foot onto the bark._

_Something sparked inside her, like a flow of an electricity circuit finally connecting to one another. Her green eyes lighted at the feeling and she smiled to herself. She waited onto another second before her foot finally found its purchase against the texture of the bark._

_One._

_Carefully, she allowed her entire weight to shift to her foot and connect through the rich texture of the tree. Hesitation brought her to a pause, for only a moment._

_Two._

_Jasmine hues narrowed to the sight of her toes. This was it, she'll prove to them that this is the right way. She could feel the slight hum of her chakra flowing around in her body, circling it's worth into the sole of her foot. With a confident smile she released her breath._

_Three._

"_Woah—Sakura-chan! That's so cool!" Hearing him praise her made her smile even brighter as she walked up the tree, the circuit-like feeling slowly ebbing to nothing as she continued. Within a few steps she was already walking as though it was something she had done on a daily basis. Knowing that three pairs of eyes were on her, she decided to even lift one foot and twirl on the bark, knowing well that her focus was still intact. _

"_Well, I believe Sakura was the one to have rather good chakra control." Her mentor murmured, and she looked down to the three of them brightly once she was at the top. She smiled down at them and giggled like the girl she was, pushing her long hair back over one shoulder despite it still blocking the right side of her vision._

_Her teammate with the dark hair clicked his teeth, and her eyes opened to the familiar sound._

"_Hn—I'll have this done within minutes then." He smirked to the tree, and then, up to her._

Like a wave, reality toppled over her.

_Sakura watched the boy intently, seeing him shift his stance so she could make out the small sign of red and white etched into his shirt. He continued to hold her gaze, the gleam in his eyes as he looked to not just her, but how he had looked to everyone, how his dark hair was sleek and framed his face. The way he had that dignified aura was powerful, and all too familiar. He was just like—_

_Her concentration—the humming of her chakra—suddenly cut its connection to the bark of the tree. Sakura blinked rapidly at the rush of the hair whipping against her face. Her body was falling to meet gravity, and she had no idea how to avoid the inevitable. Nearing the dreadful surface so soon made her mouth break apart in a scream._

"_S-Sasu—!"_

.

.

"—ke!"

Green orbs met with blinding white, making her squeeze them quickly shut. Her back broke apart from the cushioned surface she had laid on as Sakura took in a shaky breath. _What was that?_ Her fingers clutched to the thin fabric of cloth tightly, afraid of letting go. Unlike the other times before, she was remembering the vivid dream.

It was a dream, she was sure. Tree climbing was not usually done in such a way—not in reality at least—nor did she remember ever seeing those three men before. Yet they knew her pretty well with how they acted about her.

_Whiskers, blonde hair…_ She felt clammy suddenly, and realized that she had broken into a cold sweat before awakening. _Don't get distracted, remember. Remember._ Sakura cooed to herself, finally placing a roundabout image of the blonde boy into her memory.

_White hair, single eye. Mask. T-Teacher…? Right? Ka..Kashi-sensei._ At this point she felt hands at her shoulders. Her body stiffened suddenly, slowly relaxing as she felt them gently push her back into what she knew quickly was a makeshift bed. Her eyes continued to remain shut as the pictures were slowly stitching themselves together.

_The last one…black hair…black eyes._ Pink brows furrowed. _Black eyes, blue—wearing blue, ah. He said "hn". He was…he was…?_

"Sakura."

Her eyes blinked several times as the whiteness was slowly, painfully easing into her vision. The infirmary, she noted. The ceiling, the fluorescent lights and the curtains were too many thinly defined shades of white and the irony it had on affecting her sight. Softly did the girl groan and narrowed her hues to the only thing that contrasted them.

Itachi.

He was hovering over her slightly with a gaze she wasn't sure was a mix of impassive, or intuitive. Dark, obsidian flickered over her face, looking into her eyes, before he pulled back slowly. His hands lingered to either side of her shoulders, before letting them rest onto his lap. His back was tall and straight from her perspective as she turned to look to him.

"Ah…Itachi-sama." He nodded to her, with eyes she couldn't tell if he was caring or not. She glanced to his lips as they parted.

"It seems you're well enough to still address me." His voice was clipped, short and had a different note of _something_ mixed in his voice. Still his gaze didn't waver.

Sakura blinked, settling her eyes onto his dark hair now. The image of the other boy flashed into her mind quickly. "If you…don't mind me asking, but is there a reason you're here?" she did her best to sound civilized, and not rude with the question itself.

Like the gentlemen he was raised to be, Itachi gave another nod. "Ah, the Nohara girl was kind enough to inform me of your…incident." He looked briefly to the window across from her bed. "She had ran off to go inform Mikoto, but managed to find me instead."

Her heart was sinking at his words with a feeling akin to dread. She sat up slowly, looking down to the opaque sheets of her coverings. Once the young rosette could feel his eyes settle on her once more, she licked her lips. "Um…You…you didn't…c-carry me here, right?" sheepishly her green eyes glanced worriedly to Itachi. If he did—from the track to the infirmary—half the school may have seen them! It could have been someone she _really_ didn't want to deal with and they would corner her about it and then they'd try to attack her a-and—and, he smirked, folding his arms across one another.

"If I had?" His question cut her from her thoughts, silencing her from furthering her imagination. Green eyes blinked to charcoal ones before she glanced down.

"I'd rather you _hadn't_." she bitterly mumbled and clutched at the sheets once more. A soft laughter rumbled in his throat, dry and sarcastic as it pierced her ears.

"Do not assume that all Uchiha are knights in shining armor, Sakura-san. Nohara carried you here." Oh. Sakura blinked, shooting her gaze up to the egoistic, royally-bred man with wide eyes. Next was the sudden heat lifting its way through her skin, making her turning shamefully to the window. She wasn't sure now to be glad he didn't carry her, or even more embarrassed that she had even accused an _Uchiha_ to be willing to do such a thing.

It felt like an insult to both parties. "Forgive me…Itachi-san."

"Hn, well." He began, his voice cool and collected. "Dropping the honorific is enough, for now."

Her teeth ground into one another, looking still to the window so as to avoid her boiling glare to him. She took that back. The remorse she felt dissipated like water in the desert, and the anger in her eyes did their best to melt the window's glass frame.

"You were asleep for two class period's, Nohara said." Itachi blinked slowly at her, taking in the sight.

The way the light from the window somehow made the room brighter. It was making her brighter. Her long pink hair was in disarray from the sudden movements in her sleep and curled around her back, strands circling her like a halo. He also noticed Sakura's paled skin was finally regaining some color after awakening, the thin sheen of sweat from her sleep and exercising diminished some time ago.

His heart warmed as she looked back to him with those pretty eyes of minty-green—or emerald, or jasmine, depending on how her mood flashed so easily through his gaze—in shock. The curve of her jaw dropped slightly, and he indulged at the slight lick of her lips as she spoke to him.

"T-Two class periods?"

"Ah." He blinked again at her, a tilt of the corner of his lips. "You had training, if you remember." He looked to the window. The track field had students scattered all over, but running still under the eyes of a familiar teacher. "Hayate-san will not deter any changes in your training courses, however. He will expect you to be ready to give your full potential to him within tomorrow. You've been excused from your remaining training courses."

She seemed oblivious to his words, scrunching her brows and looking to her blanket again. "Of course, that's to be expected." And with that, she reached and yanked the covers off of her, seeing she was still adorned in blue shorts and a dirt-ridden gray shirt. "I'll head to class right away then—thank you Itachi-san." She swung her legs opposite to where he sat, letting him stare at her back. She stood, letting her feet touch the floor and begin to walk.

Within one step she cringed, raising her left foot and huddling onto the bed once more.

"You have a sprained ankle." He ignored the whimpers, but his eyes gave way to her legs as she crawled carefully atop the cot. He eyed her left leg, resting his vision onto the red swelling of her ankle.

"_I realize that!"_ she held her tongue from sounding any harsher, but with him in her presence, and the now apparent ache of not just her foot, but her leg as well, it was becoming just a little difficult to maintain a calm composure. She avoided his gaze, not wanting to see him glower. He did stare painfully at her with narrowed eyes, enough to make her whip her head slightly to the side. The loud scraping of his chair against the floor was enough to make her cringe.

"I'll go then, and find Nohara san. Hopefully she will be willing to help your ache." Sakura looked to her injury with a frown. His back faced her—his symbol mockingly showing itself to her in the center of his jacket—as he began to walk away. A click was heard.

"Hmn…p-please do." She mumbled to herself, unaware that he had stayed for only a fragment longer.

.

.

A chorus of heels clicked against tiles in unison, resounding off the halls as the bell rang for a break.

"Mikoto, you do not need to follow us." Itachi replied, glancing to his cousin who was walking quickly with Rin and him. She ignored his comment with a frown.

"Itachi _you_ don't need to follow _us_!" she pointed an accusing finger to him as she kept to his pace, Rin glancing now and then to the two as she walked a little farther behind them. "You're always harassing Sakura! You'll only make her upset if she were to see you again." Her dark eyes narrowed to her relative as a student pushed themselves against a locker to allow her to pass without so much as sidestepping him.

Itachi merely smirked at his cousin, his gaze easily read under her scrutiny. "I have some things to inquire about. I _was_ the one to watch over her this whole time, you know." The victory wasn't in his eyes, but his voice as he turned at an intersection of the hall, Rin and Mikoto on his heels.

"What do you mean, Itachi-sama?" Rin murmured above the both of them. "Has something happened to Sakura when we were gone?" Brown eyes glanced to worried dark blue ones before resting to the taller male.

"Ah, well something of the sort." He could see the white door before them at the end of the hall. "She had a nightmare of some kind." His eyes glanced briefly to Mikoto's rushing form. "Kept mumbling something," He murmured under his breath.

_Sasuke._

The name meant nothing to him when he thought of it, but hearing Sakura mumble it in her dreams stirred his heart uneasily. There was a heavy undertone of _feeling_ beneath her words. She had been speaking incoherently during her rest when he had entered. Despite that, he had sat and stayed dutifully beside her for those two hours, ignoring the nurse's pleas for him to return to his classes.

Sakura had said many things in her sleep when he was with her. _It's her habit._ He mused to himself, wishing to bring a hand over her face, though his thoughts—and actions—were cut short as he heard her murmur things he'd never imagine.

"_Sasuke—no.."_

_She gasped in the bed, he watched as her scarred hands formed fists, knuckles white and holding onto the coverings. Her brows creased in worry and her lips were pale as they mumbled out the name again and again._

"_Sasuke—Sasuke-" _

_She did many things in her sleep as he looked over her with care and concentration. Within those few moments of calling this "Sasuke," she smiled in her dreams, faint rows of white peeking before settling back to a poised frown. Then she whimpered like a puppy, her brows even furrowed and tried to form other sentences that became mumbles. She tossed and turned, until finally shifting to lie onto her back._

_An hour and a half passed quietly after that. Then…_

"_Sasuke!"_

Laughter broke his thoughts as he looked to the sign: Infirmary.

The door was before him, and casually he opened it to see Mikoto and the Nohara girl had already dashed in, by Sakura's side. He closed the door soundlessly and waited in the corner of the room, near the exit. Then, like he was known to do, Itachi simply watched what unfolded before him.

Her smile was bright suddenly and her voice spilled out in a rush; she talked to them in excitement, in worry, in careless laughs, and in devotion. All for her friends.

"Would you like to spend the next few nights at my house, Mikoto…san?" the pink-locked girl bubbled out a giggle, taking his cousin's hand and Rin's other, smiling to them both. She glanced quickly to the outcast beside the door, swallowing faintly. Mikoto nodded with a mess of dark, navy blue bobbing along. Sakura's attention wavered then to her other friend. "Rin, Hayate said I had to be prepared for class tomorrow, right?" There were a few murmurs going around the trio, Rin's lips raised in a vicious snarl.

"Like hell I'll let Gekko-sensei go and make you run—we should get you a pass!" Rin spoke up defiantly, looking to the window and glaring at her teacher down below. "He can't let you run tomorrow, maybe not until Wednesday, so we'll have to get you excused for now. You can do weight's though, can't you?" She glanced to Sakura with worry inscribed into her features.

A mess of pink hair nodded. "Bench presses, maybe. A sprained ankle shouldn't hold me back from all my courses."

"I'll get her excuse." Mikoto mused, helping to brush out the odd pink tangles in her friend's long hair. "Some perks for having me as a friend, huh?" she smiled kindly to Sakura, who was already trying to object to her offer. "You've been helping me with my novel anyways, and I don't believe in Hayate-san's idea of working with pain to ease pain out. It doesn't really work." The female Uchiha chuckled lightly, pulling her hands away to take a look at Sakura. Rin hummed alongside her.

"We'll need to ice your sprain, and get you home. I wonder why the nurse isn't here." Rin looked back to the door—eyes shifting slightly—and rested on Itachi.

"I excused her from entering some time ago." He murmured.

"But you two still have classes—" Sakura pressed on, ignoring Itachi's presence as she looked to her friends. They glanced at her, turning towards one another, then towards the only male in the room.

"It's nearly the end of fifth period…" Rin began. "It's fine if I go and drop you off now." She brushed back brown locks and looked down to Sakura's injury. "It gets crazy when everyone leaves altogether, plus, Mikoto and Itachi-sama are of more importance. It wouldn't do them good if they were to leave."

As the rosette and the brunette began to bicker to eachother, the other turned away from them.

Mikoto blinked, looking back to her relative and pointed an acusing finger at him. "By the way!" She started, already walking up to the taller man. He looked down pointedly at her, his face blank. "Shisui has been asking for you! He said you were supposed to train with him and you haven't been seen for the past two hours…! Izuna-san wasn't pleased with your disappearance." Her hands rested on her hips, her frown silently shifting to a sly smile. "I wonder what I should tell them."

"Mikoto—"

"Should I tell them you were busy doing tedious tasks…? Like watching over a particular student?" her smile morphed into a smirk as the older of the two went rigid. "A pretty civilian with _rosy_ hair?"

"Hn." His eyes grew darker, and she noted that his jaw was clenched. "I've already completed my regimen for the day Miko—"

"You have not, Itachi. _Two hours?_ You can't stay by her side like that, even if she ever did want you to—which I know for a fact she does _not_—It's not…_safe_. Not for her." Her words became harsh and reprimanding whispers to her cousin, watching as he looked painfully at her. She continued.

"Hokage's Honor or not, you're not allowed to be with her." Mikoto looked at Itachi, her voice smooth and calm, as though to ease the harshness of her words. "Grandfather would never permit that."

Itachi looked on to Sakura and Rin who were in their own little bubble, just as he was now with Mikoto. Their bickering had subsided to giggles and laughs, something he could never really express. He watched as Sakura smiled so _brightly_ to her dear friend, tilting her head and closing her eyes, despite the pain from her injury. It was refreshing to see her every time, easing his ill-tainted heart. She was the epitome of spring; budding just enough show him a glimpse of her beauty.

_Grandfather would never permit that._

The words broke into him, digging into his thoughts and thoughts of the pink-haired woman. He shifted his gaze to his cousin, who looked back at him with piercingly black eyes. Her brows were creased, her mouth parted to stop him from his excuses should he ever try again.

Anger was bubbling inside him, sweltering and boiling in the bottom of his heart. Damn his bloodline. Damn it. _Damn it._ His lips split slightly apart to show his disgruntled behavior and bared his white teeth.

"Itachi, stop." She whispered again, focusing her glare onto his. "Stop with your eyes."

He blinked a few times as the anger was still rotting in the pits of his heart. His eyes?

He turned to the door, where a small glass frame showed a poor reflection. Blurs of black and pale white looked back to him.

Small, smudged pools of red caught his attention quickly.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, diminishing his hatred like water over fire, and looked back to see two, coal blurs staring in return. Itachi turned back to Mikoto, who nodded in approval. "Don't think about her anymore." She clipped. "You need to leave."

It was silent.

"Are you alright, Mikoto-san?" Said woman turned, smiling brightly in her façade to Sakura.

"Yes! Yes very much!" she chirped in a sing-song voice. "I was telling Itachi how Shisui and Izuna have been upset with his attendance for the day, aha…!" she walked back to Sakura, smiling and taking her hands again. "Let's hurry—ah, Rin, don't worry! I'll be more than happy to take Sakura back home. You're of more importance in my opinion, and you're the only one with Hyuuga-sensei's class, so get her homework for later ok?" She smiled too brightly—forcibly—to the brunette who bowed to her and walked off. Bowing to Itachi as well, she propped the door open and left.

The sixth bell rang for the day.

He made no intention to move, his gaze burrowing into the pinkette's hair for a while longer. There was going to be a way, he was sure. He would figure out how to coerce his Grandfather into the idea of allowing her into the family. A sliver of green caught his staring.

"You're still here Itachi?" Mikoto turned, seeing her cousin suddenly move away from the door and disperse from her sight. She waited for a minute before there was the distinctive click of his shoes against the tile. Slowly her smile softened to bitterness underneath her mask, turning and looking back to Sakura.

"He scares me sometimes…" She heard her friend mumble. Mikoto only chuckled, taking in Sakura's scarred hands and looking to them. "I don't know why he does it…Ever since you and I became friends…"

"Well, Itachi has some things to look forward to now. It's rare for him to find an interest in anything outside of our family." Dark navy blue eyes lightened slightly, before shadowing over in grief for her cousin. "I think it's nice…" she began slowly. "I guess you could say he's had a crush on you."

She looked up to terrified, wide green eyes before quickly sputtering out in laughs. "Oh my gosh Sakura, I'm _kidding_!"

The late bell rang, knocking a sense of reality over the duo. Mikoto looked over her ankle. She changed the subject quickly. "I'll have you dropped off to your house but I'll drop my things off later though, alright?" She smiled to Sakura, curling her lips up happily and tracing her hand over her injury. "We'll get this under ice soon, and we'll have some work to do." Sakura nodded, pulling her hair back and grinning.

"Thank you, Mikoto-chan."

Her friend only smiled warmly, almost motherly as she stood. "Not a problem, Sakura-chan."

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**Koucha here!**

_I have no definitions to share, unless someone has one within the story they don't understand? I'll be more than happy to provide! Unless no one knows what Sensei means..uh._

This chapter was difficult to write, I'm not going to lie. I've re-read and edited this chapter numerous times-even rewrote some parts over and over..Hopefully it transitioned well. I wanted to establish some scenes-the Academy being one of the key changes in Konoha, as well as Sakura having her lucid dreaming moments..I'll just break quick details into it after responses!

**_Itachi/Sakura/+Mikoto:_** The pairing in this chapter was subtle somewhat, and also helps give a little insight to Uchiha family customs now. Mikoto is very motherly in my eyes, so her protecting Sakura was something I've wanted to add in. Mikoto and Itachi are simply cousins.

**_Sakura's Dreams/Training:_**Not all of her training classes overlap one another, it's taken as regular courses. I decided to do what my teacher had done to my class and-if you are the last in line, you're given the extra lap-in order to make up not in time, but in endurance. My legs used to always go numb so...!

Her dreaming is particular. It's hard for her to speak on her own, but her memories overlap what she wants to say. This one in particular was her having a lucid dream. Especially over chakra!

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_Varee_: Thank you for the reviews! I've thought over Sakura's Bedroom setting, and it makes sense that it's not "bare minimum" in the least. I'll be sure to revise and make a few changes before I finish chapter 5. ...also, even my friend corrected me on my Japanese so I promise I'll make that edit change soon!...thank you for the review/advice!

_Lady Lys_: Ah, thank you very much! I'm glad you like the story! Please look forward to the next chapter!

Thank you, those who follow and favorite! Please leave reviews or advice, and thank you for reading!


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